Justin Fazio starts overage season with hometown Sarnia Sting

When Justin Fazio tells his younger teammates to savour every moment of their OHL careers, they’d better listen.

Fazio knows what he’s talking about.

As the overage goaltender starts his final season with his hometown Sarnia Sting, he can’t believe the past three seasons went by so quickly.

“Honestly, it’s kind of scary,” said Fazio, 20. “It’s flown by. I remember my first year, guys like Dupes (overage goalie Taylor Dupuis) and everyone, they tell you, ‘Enjoy every moment. Live it up. Enjoy every single second you’re here because it flies by.’

“And you kind of shake it off and say, ‘We’ve got five years left, four years left in this league. That’s a ton of time.’

“But I’m sitting here and it’s my last year and it’s absolutely flown by. I’m going to be telling all the rookies about that and how they’ve got to enjoy every moment, too.”

Fazio regrets not heeding the veterans’ advice years ago.

“I wish I could have enjoyed every moment more,” he said. “Honestly, it’s a privilege to play in this league. It’s amazing. It’s a joy every day coming to the rink. It’s really flown by. It’s crazy.”

He wants to appreciate every practice, every game, every road trip a little more this season.

“I’m going to try to,” he said. “Go to every arena for the last time and enjoy every moment of it.”

The Sting will visit the Guelph Storm in Friday’s season opener. Their home opener is Saturday against the Kitchener Rangers at Progressive Auto Sales Arena at 7:05 p.m.

It will be the fourth home opener for Fazio, a fourth-round draft pick in 2013 who played the 2013-14 season with the junior B Lambton Shores Predators. Since then, he’s played for the team he loved as a young fan.

“It’s been amazing,” he said. “I can’t even put it in words. I remember when I was drafted here, it was just mind-blowing. It was just amazing to play for my hometown team.

“I was in the stands pretending to be the goalie in net when I was five years old and in my seat doing crease movements, just dreaming about it. And to actually be able to play for my hometown, an amazing city like Sarnia, it’s surreal.”

The six-foot, 189-pound Fazio has a 55-51-7-3 record and 3.43 goals-against average in 125 regular-season games.

Last season, he was 23-20-3-1 with a 3.68 GAA and .896 save percentage as the Sting placed eighth in the Western Conference.

It was an up-and-down season for Fazio, who said he still has “a lot” to prove. He wants to turn pro, and a solid overage campaign could help him land a contract.

“I want to be a big part of the team this year,” he said. “I want to contribute day in and day out. I think I’m going to have to. I think I’m ready to take that role on and really contribute to everything.”

The Sting coaches have high expectations for him as well.

“Justin’s got to be a backbone for our team this year,” assistant coach Jeff Barratt said. “He’s an overage guy, he’s been in the league for four years now. We really need a consistent effort, game in and game out, and at practice. He has to lead by example. He’s a guy that’s going to be counted on heavily throughout the season.”

Fazio ranked fourth in the OHL with a 2.68 GAA in 2015-16 as the Sting won the West Division. His GAA rose by a full goal per game last season as the team struggled defensively at times in front of him.

“You can’t point a finger at a goalie or a defenceman,” Barratt said. “It’s a six-person effort during the course of the game and we have to be better as a team defensively. And each individual has to be better in the defensive zone and defensively overall.”

Despite tying for fourth in games played last season, Fazio doesn’t see himself as the Sting’s No. 1 goalie over Aidan Hughes.

“I just try and play my game every night, do my thing, and just be confident in myself and believe in myself,” he said.

He has no personal goals for this season, only team goals.

“We want to win the division this year and we definitely think we have the ability to do so,” he said. “That’s something that we really want to strive for.”